The appointment of the director of the TELUQ Education Department, Caroline Brassard, to head a committee of experts who must mostly approve training offered by TELUQ arouses indignation from opposition parties and deans, who see serious risks of conflicts of interest.
By naming Mme Armband to the presidency of the CAPFE – the Committee for the Accreditation of Teacher Training Programs – the Minister of Education “disregarded almost all the basic rules in terms of consultations, ethics , to take into consideration conflicts of interest,” launched Professor Julie Desjardins, who chairs the Association of Deans and Directors for the Study and Research in Education in Quebec (ADEREQ), on Wednesday.
“The conflict of interest is obvious,” also observed Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy. “At this point, I think Mr.me Brassard should recuse himself. »
Bernard Drainville was resurrected on 1er December the CAPFE, whose mission is, among other things, to approve teacher training programs. This committee of experts must treat requests regarding the creation of these new programs in an “impartial, fair and equitable” manner.
However, the office of the Minister of Education has openly affirmed that it is recreating the CAPFE because it wishes to “recognize new accelerated teaching pathways to promote the qualification of non-legally qualified teaching staff”. There are currently five such expressways. Three of them are offered by TELUQ.
In a response sent to Duty by email, Mme Brassard affirmed that she intended to withdraw “from any exchange related to the programs offered by TELUQ”, in accordance with the CAPFE code of ethics and professional conduct. Asked about his choice to appoint Mme Armband at the head of CAPFE, Minister Drainville’s office, for its part, dismissed The duty at the Ministry of Education. He had not answered our questions at the end of the day on Wednesday.
Mme Brassard also declared to Duty that she had renounced being a member of ADEREQ. She explained that there was, in her opinion, an “incompatibility” in her presence at the two instances.
A bigger conflict
Except that its withdrawal from ADEREQ is far from allaying the fears of rectors. “It’s more than that, the conflict of interest,” observed President Desjardins.
The dual function of Mme Brassard — at the head of the TELUQ Education Department and at the head of the CAPFE — raises concerns, expressed by several deans in recent days. “When universities have questions, projects to develop, they will contact CAPFE. […] Mme Brassard will therefore find himself in a key position to have access to information on all universities,” explained Julie Desjardins. “So, there is something very disturbing in the fact that she maintains her position as department director and that she accepted the presidency of CAPFE. »
This last function requires independence. “You don’t have to be one step ahead,” argues Mme Gardens. She underlines in passing that ADEREQ had not submitted the candidacy of Ms.me Brassard when requested by Minister Drainville. “We have proposed several names for the presidency, people of high quality, with an exemplary background. The minister chose to go to a person who, in my opinion, has not been subjugated by any authority,” she said. This is where Mr. Drainville, according to her, ignored the most basic rules in matters of consultation and ethics.
“Independent, neutral and objective”?
The appointment of Mme Armband as president of CAPFE also irritates the opposition parties. “Clearly, Mr. Drainville did not understand the objective of having an independent, neutral and objective committee,” declared Mr.me Rizqy, describing the exercise as a “masquerade”. “You cannot be judge and jury, that’s a basic rule,” she stressed.
“The Minister of Education just appoints people who think like him, it’s worrying! » also reacted Ruba Ghazal, responsible for solidarity in education. “The ink has barely dried on Bill 23 when we can already see how the minister intends to impose his views on the education sector. We feared the centralization and concentration of powers, we have the best possible example of this on day 1 of the Drainville reform,” also launched the spokesperson for the Parti Québécois in matters of education, Pascal Bérubé.
Mme Ghazal also recalled that the former members of the CAPFE had resigned en bloc when the Drainville reform was tabled. They felt that it was impossible for them to work rigorously. These ex-members “would never have agreed to level training down,” she said.